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When Pakistan was created, its Founding Father Ali Jinnah endorsed the principles of religious freedom and equal rights for all, irrespective of caste or creed. The succession of constitutions that followed went counter to these ideals, and opened the door to persecution and violence against minorities. Beside blasphemy, Christians and members of other non-Muslim religions have to deal with the problem of forced conversions and marriages.

Islamabad – Pakistan is a plural society with a number of religious, sectarian and ethno-linguistic groups. It is nation of about162 million people where Muslims represent more than 90 per cent of the total, divided doctrinal lines. As a religious minority Christians face religious, social, constitutional, economic and educational discrimination. In addition to Christians, non-Muslim Pakistanis include Baha’is, Buddhists, Hindus, Jains, Kalasha, Parsees and Sikhs.
Pakistan’s Founding Fathers envisaged a progressive, democratic and tolerant society that retained its Muslim character whilst giving equal rights to its non-Muslim citizens.

In his address to the first Constituent Assembly of Pakistan on 11 August 1947, Muhammad Ali Jinnah said: “You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other places of worship in the State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed – that has nothing to do with the business of the State. [. . .] We are starting with this fundamental principle: that we are all citizens and equal citizens of one State. Now, I think we should keep that in front of us as our ideal and you will find that in course of time Hindus would cease to be Hindus and Muslims would cease to be Muslims, not so in the religious sense because that is the personal faith of each individual, but in the political sense as citizens of the state.”

This speech sums up Jinnah’s views on the role of religion and the state; it is considered by many as the founding charter of Pakistan.

Islamisation of the country

However, in the subsequent decades, especially in the 1970s and 1980s, the Pakistani state, rather than guarantee equal rights and equal opportunities to all its Muslim and non-Muslim citizens, began instead to encourage extremist forces. This has allowed Islamist forces in Pakistan to rewrite South Asian history to suit their own religious biases. Consequently, today most Pakistani Muslims know nothing of the significant contributions made by minorities to the creation and the defence of Pakistan. What’s more, academics and journalists have largely failed to publicise this vital information.

Regrettably, the official history of Pakistan does not reflect the role Christians played in the establishment of the country. The historical facts regarding Christians and other minorities’ contribution are neither mentioned, nor highlighted.

The constitutions of Pakistan

In addition to the interim legislation of 1947 and the Objectives Resolution of 1949, Pakistan has had four Constitutions since its independence.

In 1973, then President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had the National Assembly adopt a new constitution that introduced a parliamentary form of government. To this day, this charter remains the only consensus-based constitution the country has ever known. However, after coming to power General Zia-ul-Haq made radical amendments to the constitution, affecting the civil rights of all Pakistanis, but especially non-Muslims.

Constitutional discrimination

The Constitution of Pakistan segregates its citizens on the basis of religion and provides preferential treatment to Muslims. For example, Article 2 of the Constitution declares Islam as “the State religion of Pakistan” and recognises the Holy Qur‘an and the Sunnah as “the supreme law and source of guidance for legislation to be administered through laws enacted by the Parliament and Provincial Assemblies, and for policy making by the Government”. Similarly, Article 41(2) says that only a Muslim can become president. Last but not least, Article 260 recognises two distinct categories of people, “Muslim” and “Non-Muslim,” thereby facilitating and encouraging discrimination on the basis of religion.

The constitution is so clearly one-sided in giving preferential treatment to majority Muslims that even a Hindu judge had to take the oath of office in the name of “Allah”. On 24 March 2007, Justice Rana Bhagwandas, as the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, was sworn in as Acting Chief Justice of Pakistan after the suspension of the incumbent Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. When Justice Bhagwandas was sworn in, he had to recite the Qur‘anic prayer: “May Allah Almighty help and guide me, (A’meen)”.

The Pakistan Penal Code, in particular Section 295-A, Section 295-B, Section 295-C, Section 298-A and Section 298-B, imposes harsh punishment for alleged blasphemy. These blasphemy laws undermine other major provisions of the Constitution of Pakistan such as the fundamental right to “profess, practice and propagate” one’s religion (Article 20), the principle of equality before the law and the equal protection of the law to all citizens (Article 25), as well as the “legitimate rights and interests of minorities” (Article 36).

Blasphemy laws

Historically, the most far-reaching steps towards Islamisation were taken during President Zia-ul-Haq administration (1977 to 1988). Under his rule, a number of Islamic laws were introduced and a judicial body was set up to review all existing laws as to their agreement with Islamic principles. Laws and orders passed during the martial law years under President Zia-ul-Haq, including those governing religious offences, were placed outside the scope of judicial review by the Eighth Constitutional Amendment of 1985.

The blasphemy provisions of the Penal Code have been widely abused and misused to target minorities and sometimes settle personal scores among the Muslims. Even after acquittal by the courts, those who had to face blasphemy charges still live in fear.

Amendments of laws relating to religious offences in the Pakistan Penal Code brought about under President Zia differ significantly from earlier laws in at least four ways. They do not specifically mention malicious intent to hurt religious sensitivities as a condition for criminal offence and provide for significantly increased penalties. They make specific reference to Islam whilst earlier laws were intended to protect the religious sentiments of “any class of persons”. A distinct shift in emphasis is noticeable: the new sections of the Penal Code do not make it a criminal offence to injure the religious feelings of Muslims, but rather define the offence in terms of insult or affront to Islam itself. The offences consist in defiling or insulting the prophet of Islam, his companions and family members and desecrating the Koran.

Other forms of discrimination against Christians

The widespread economic, social, legal and cultural discrimination against Christians is the main issue that needs to be addressed in Pakistan.

Land and properties, including places of worship, owned by Christians have been forcibly seized. Minorities have been denied equal treatment and protection by law enforcement personnel.

Kidnapping, rape and forced marriage of Christian and Hindu girls is a common practice. Should a Muslim man be arrested for such a crime, all he has to do is produce a certificate issued by any Muslim seminary claiming that the kidnapped girls have voluntarily adopted Islam and married the accused. The courts generally do not consider the fact that most of the girls are under age and simply accept the validity of the certificate of conversion without making any additional inquiry.

In some areas of the North-West Frontier Province, various Taliban groups have started to apply the Jizya, a tax imposed only on non-Muslims. At the same time, members of the Sikh, Hindu and Christian communities have been kidnapped for hefty ransoms.

On 6 February 1997, a mob of about 30,000 Muslims attacked a Christian village called Shantinagar, near Khanewal City, in Punjab Province. They set on fire the whole village, including many Churches. The spark that caused the assault was a blasphemy case involving a Christian who was charged under Section 295-B of the Pakistan Penal Code.

On 12 November 2005, another angry mob of some 2,000 Muslims vandalised and set fire to three Churches, a nuns’ convent, two Catholic schools, the homes of a Protestant clergyman and a Catholic priest, a girls’ hostel and the homes of Christian residents in the village of Sangla Hill in Nankana District, in Punjab. The attack was sparked by an alleged case of blasphemy involving a local Christian, also under section 295-B of the Pakistan Penal Code.

On 8 May 200, many Christian families reportedly fled their homes after they received a threatening letter from Islamic militants at Charsada in the North-West Frontier Province. In it, they were summoned to convert to Islam within 10 days or face dire consequences. In June 2007, Christians in Shantinagar village, Khanewal District, in Punjab received similar threats. In such cases, police have often failed to provide adequate protection.

On 22 April 2009, a gang of armed extremists attacked a group of Christians in Tiasar Town, a Karachi suburb, setting six houses on fire and seriously injuring three Christians. One of them was Irfan Masih, whose injuries were serious from the beginning and who died five days later.

On 30 June 2009, angry Muslims attacked Christian homes in Bahmani wala village, Kasur District, in Punjab, after another Christian was accused of blaspheming against Islam’s prophet. They damaged about 100 houses and stole valuables (gold jewellery) and cash. The mob also smashed furniture and other household items.

On 1 July 2009, a Christian youth, Imran Masih, was tortured by a group of Muslims and then arrested by local police for allegedly burning pages of the Qur‘an in Faisalabad’s Hajwary area.

On 30 July 2009, thousands of Muslim fundamentalists descended upon the village of Koriyan where they set 51 Christian homes on fire after another case of alleged blasphemy. Two days later, on 1 August, at least 3,000 extremists went after the Christian community in Gojra. Seven people were burnt to death (including two children and three women), and another 19 were injured. Dozens of houses were also set on fire.

These incidents illustrate the kind of abuse and the far-reaching consequences of the blasphemy laws; too many times, they have been used to justify violence against others.

These incidents tell us what can happen to particular sections of society. However, Muslims too have been victimised by these laws over the past 20 years. Therefore, the situation calls for a serious and long-term remedy.

According to data collected by the National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP), a human rights organisation of the Catholic Church of Pakistan, at least 964 persons have been accused on the basis of these laws between 1986 and August 2009. They include 479 Muslims, 119 Christians, 340 Ahmadis, 14 Hindus and 10 of unknown religion.

Christian missionaries in Mexico, including foreigners, face more security challenges after a married couple who had served for nearly three decades as Baptist church missionaries were killed.

Americans John Casias, 76, and Wanda Casias, 67, were found strangled Tuesday, January 31, with electrical cords when one or more intruders broke into their house in Santiago, Nuevo Leon.

Christians said the attacker stole a safe, televisions and mission group vehicles, along with other items. Mexican investigators told reporters that they suspect they knew their attacker because no doors or locks were forced.

Their children said they knew the dangers in the area, where they had worked for some 29 years.

The couple was murdered about one year after another missionary from the American State of Texas was killed in Mexico.

MISSIONARY KILLED

Sam and Nancy Davis were driving out of Mexico in January 2011 when gunmen tried to stop their truck about 70 miles (112 kilometers) south of Reynosa. When they refused to stop, the gunmen fired, killing Nancy Davis, Christians and officials said. The Davises, too, had done missionary work in Mexico for three decades.

Sam Davis has since gone into hiding, his mother, Francille Davis, told the Associated Press news agency this week. “They’re still wanting to kill him,” she said of the gunmen. Davis, who lives in South Texas, said she did not know where her son was, but did not think he had returned to Mexico as a missionary.

The area where the elderly couple was killed this week was known for attacks by drug cartels, including the murder of a mayor.

With violence increasing at least some mission groups have taken additional security measures with some starting to send volunteers to the same security training camps corporations and aid groups have used for years to prepare their employees for risky overseas assignments.

“For all of our new missionaries in recent years it is mandatory that they get security training commensurate with the risk level in that country,” said John David Smith, executive director of the Baptist Missionary Association of America Department of Mission, which has four families currently volunteering in Mexico according to its website.

SECURITY CHALLENGES

His organization also has put in place other safety measures such as forbidding missionaries from driving in and out of Mexico, which would force them to travel through more dangerous border areas.

The latest developments have underscored tensions between devoted Christians and non-believers and traditional churches.

In Mexico’s Puebla state authorities have however intervened after Protestant Christians said they were threatened with expulsion and even death by Catholics.

Pressured by officials, Catholics in San Rafael Tlanalapan agreed however to allow evangelicals to construct a worship place in the town far from the Catholic church building, Christians said.

Mexican media reported that local Catholics claimed that a local priest incited them to make this threat, including crucifixion. Catholic extremists had threatened to destroy the homes of dozens of Christians. (BosNewsLife February 3. 2012)

2011 Annual Report Of Chinese Government Persecution Of Christians And Churches In Mainland China Released

02/01/2012 China (ChinaAid) – Government persecution of Christians and churches in China worsened significantly in 2011. In comparing the total number of persecution cases, the number of people persecuted, the number detained, the number sentenced, the number of abuse cases and the number of people abused with the same figures for 2010, the total of all six categories showed a jump of 42.5% over the previous year. Compared with the statistics in ChinaAid’s past annual reports, this trend of worsening persecution has persisted for the past six years, with an average annual increase of 33.1% in the total of all six categories of persecution statistics tracked by ChinaAid.

…

In addition to continuing the 2008 and 2009 practice of “targeting house church leaders and churches in urban areas” and 2010’s “attacking Christian human rights lawyers groups and using abuse, torture and mafia tactics,” the focus of the persecution in 2011 was on increasing the intensity of attacks against Christians and house churches with societal impact.

In December 2010, the Communist Party Central Committee’s Public Security Commission issued a secret document to target China’s house churches in the implementation of its special suppression campaign “Operation Deterrence.” The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom in an April 20, 2011 statement said, “In a February 2011 speech, Wang Zu’on [sic – correct spelling is Zuo’an], head of China’s State Administration for Religious Affairs (SARA), called on government officials to renew efforts to ‘guide’ unregistered Protestants to worship in state-sanctioned churches and ‘break’ large churches like Shouwang into small groups.

…

Looking back at the situation in 2011 reveals that the persecution inflicted on churches as a whole and the deterioration of religious freedom overall in China resulted from the strict implementation of Wang Zuo’an’s guidelines, which were undoubtedly the policy decision of the Communist Party Central Committee. The effect of this policy-making decision was to suppress the ever-expanding influence on Chinese society of religion, especially of Christianity.

…

In the 38 weeks beginning on April 20 and continuing through Dec. 25, there were more than 1,000 detentions of members of Beijing Shouwang Church. Several hundred other church members were placed under house arrest by the police and Domestic Security Protection agents. During this time, some believers were verbally and physically abused while in detention, and some lost their jobs or were evicted due to government pressure on their employers and landlords. The church’s pastors and elders were confined under house arrest the entire time and deprived of their liberty.

…

Against the backdrop of China’s dark political and cultural environment, it is inevitable that the rapid growth of the church would create “a city on a hill—a light in society” effect, giving the Chinese people great hope and the powerful force of transformed lives. This kind of positive influence clearly has had the effect of putting the Communist ideology under attack, which is exactly what those defenders of totalitarianism fear and is why they so ruthlessly engage in harsh repression and splitting and dividing. This is the attitude and the policy taken by the ultra-leftist political ideologues represented by the Hu Jintao government toward Christianity and all religions that have a powerful influence on society.

The percentage of Saudi Arabians who are Christians is, officially, zero.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is an Islamic theocratic monarchy in which Islam is the official religion. Although no law requires citizens or passport holders to be Muslim, almost all citizens are Muslims.

Non-Muslims are prohibited from entering the cities of Mecca and Medina, Islam’s holiest cities.

There are, though, more than a million Roman Catholics but they are non-citizen expatriates who have gone to Saudi Arabia to work. These expatriate Christians are not to openly practice their faith so there are no official churches there. However, the expatriate Christians in the country have been allowed to hold services in homes or large school buildings inside gated communities. Attacks against Christians and human rights abuses, even against Shai Muslims, have in fact been on the rise since King Abdullah was elected to power in 2005.

Present Day Persecution and Attacks on Christians

July 2001 – two underground Christian leaders arrested in Jeddah, one tortured into revealing at least six names of other leaders; part of a campaign to eliminate house churches there.

January 2002 – three Christians from Ethiopia are suspended with chains and lashed 80 times each with a flexible metal cable in front of more than 1,000 detainees, with no follow-up medical care.

September 2004 – a Christian from India is sentenced to 10 months and 300 lashes for selling liquor—no mention of biblical excerpts and documentary videos or movies about the Bible he actually sold. Hung upside down he is kicked in the chest and ribs, whipped with electrical wire on his back and on the soles of his feet.

August 2008 – More than a dozen Christians accused of worshipping in their homes are ordered to be deported.

August 2008 – a young woman is executed; set afire by her own father, an officer of the Muttawa (morality police), who first cut out her tongue. He is obliged by honor to cleanse his family according to the rules of the rigid Wahhabi doctrine.

January 2009 – a 28-year-old Christian man is arrested for describing his conversion on his Web site and criticizing the kingdom’s judiciary.

January 2010 – a Filipino Catholic nurse working at Riyadh hospital reports having seen at least 50 Catholic or Christian Filipino migrants accept Islam under duress; being told they must become Muslim to keep their jobs.

December 2010 – reports of along with other Islamic countries Saudi Arabia pours millions of dollars into propagating Wahhabism in the Balkans—the version of Islam that calls for attacks on non-Muslims.

February 2011 – Saudi Arabia enacts one of the most stringent blogging regulations. Non-citizens in the country are not permitted to write about news and be very careful about religion. (By HubPages)

Like dozens of nations around the world, Turkey’s population of minority Christians suffers from injustice and persecution. And as in many countries that have been affected by the recent Arab Spring, Turkey’s trend of persecution is a result of the growing Muslim influence in its society.
Turkish Christians — especially converted Muslims — are often discriminated against, even by members of their own families. Although public preaching is technically permitted, preachers risk being harassed by the police. And while the distribution of Bibles and Christian literature is also permitted, open distribution of these materials can sometimes spell trouble for those who are brave enough to attempt it.

What few people know, however, is that an even darker force is at work behind the scenes, in a nation that has historically been known as one of America’s greatest Middle Eastern allies.
Something sinister is going on in Turkey…and its menacing shadow is reaching across the continents to directly affect the United States.

A Dangerous Coup
Disturbing reports over the past several years have revealed that Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s Islamic Prime Minister, is a strong follower of Fethullah Gulen, an Islamic imam. While outwardly appearing to be a tolerant Muslim, Gulen himself, however, is a believer in the Islamist Nur movement, which calls for Islamic domination worldwide.

A self-proclaimed prophet, Gulen has even delivered sermons calling for Turkey — and the world — to become Islamic states and to implement sharia law throughout the globe. Gulen’s fundamental belief system also includes the notions that Muslims are permitted to lie to “infidels” and that total secrecy is acceptable.

In accordance with those tenets, Erdogan and his ruling party, the AKP, has effectively managed to conceal an agenda of advancing Islamic rule, which has been in place since Erdogan was elected Prime Minister in 2003.

In July 2011, four of Turkey’s top military commanders — secularists who opposed Turkey becoming an Islamic state — all resigned from their posts, having reportedly been coerced into resignation by the AKP. The AKP has also reportedly been responsible for plots to discredit more than 400 people, including 58 journalists and 250 military personnel, who have attempted to make the truth known about its intentions.

In an attempt to further control Turkey’s media, Gulen and the AKP have acquired nine of the country’s leading newspapers, and television and radio stations. Gulenists have also taken over the Turkish police force.

Now, in what has become known as “the Gulenist plot,” plans have been underway to transition Turkey away from being a pro-American, pro-Israel nation, and instead forming ties with Russia, Iran, Hamas, Hazbollah, and Syria.

Gulen and the United States
To escape growing suspicion in Turkey about his true intentions, Gulen moved to the United States in 1998. He now resides in Pennsylvania, where he oversees an international network that controls more than 75 percent of the schools and universities in Turkey, as well as hundreds of schools in countries around the world — including the United States. In Gulenist schools, where many teachers and administrators are imams, children are often taught with an indoctrinating “spin” of Islamic superiority.

But Gulen’s worldwide influence from his Pennsylvania residence is not America’s only concern. As a perceived U.S. ally with the second-largest army in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Turkey’s metamorphosis into an Islamic state could mean a dangerous future for the United States.
(CFI Jan. 27, 2012)

Since Muhammad obviously commanded his followers to fight unbelievers (simply for being unbelievers), why do Muslims in the West deny this? Here we must turn to Surah 3:28, which reads:

Let not the believers take disbelievers for their friends in preference to believers. Whoso doeth that hath no connection with Allah unless (it be) that ye but guard yourselves against them, taking (as it were) security.

According to this verse (which uses a variation of the word Taqiyya, meaning “concealment”), Muslims are not allowed to be friends with non-Muslims. However, if Muslims feel threatened by a stronger adversary, they are allowed to pretend to be friendly. Ibn Kathir comments: “In this case, such believers are allowed to show friendship outwardly but never inwardly.” Abu Darda, one of Muhammad’s companions, put it this way: “We smile in the face of some people although our hearts curse them.”

Is Islam a religion of peace? No. Islam is a religion that pretends to be peaceful when Muslims are too weak to win a war. Of course, there are many Muslims who aren’t violent. Many Muslims in the West love peace and tolerance. But they didn’t get these values from Islam. They got them from the West, and now they’re reinterpreting Islam based on their Western values. For dedicated Muslims, however, there are only two possible situations to be in: (1) fighting unbelievers, and (2) pretending to be peaceful while preparing to fight unbelievers. Either way, fighting non-Muslims and conquering the world in the name of Allah is always the goal. (By Answering Muslims.com)

International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that Saudi Arabian officials strip searched 29 Christian women and assaulted six Christian men after arresting them for holding a prayer meeting at a private home in Jeddah. The prisoners are currently being held at Briman prison in Jeddah.

“We feel humiliated because the security officials stripped searched us. They used the same glove to search several of us at the same time. Some of my friends are suffering from physical pain to their private parts due to the unsanitary condition of the strip search. We haven’t committed any crime. We are imprisoned for worshipping the God of heaven and earth,” said one of the female prisoners during an interview with ICC.

Speaking to ICC, another prisoner said, “A high-ranking security official insulted us saying ‘You are non-believers and animals.’ He also said, ‘You are pro-Jews and supporters of America.’ We then responded, ‘We love everyone. Our God tells us to love everyone.’”

In a message for Christians around the world, the prisoner said, “We want you to help us to get out of prison in every way you can, including prayer. Please tell your governments about our plight, contact human rights organizations and others and inform them about us.”

ICC’s Jonathan Racho said, “The Saudi Arabian officials are committing serious violations of human rights by detaining and mistreating the Christians. It is outrageous that the officials indefinitely incarcerate innocents for practicing their faith. We urge the Saudi officials to release the prisoners and respect their religious freedom.” (Persecution.org Jan 24. 2012)

President of Christian Freedom International (CFI), Jim Jacobson has found increasing evidence of persecutions against Christians that are converted from Islam, during his visit to Bangladesh. He urged Bangladeshi authorities to stop such practices.

The main religion in Bangladesh is Islam, with approximately 88%, 11% Hindu and the 1% remaining is Buddhism and Christianity. In 1988 Islam became the state religion, but the constitution guarantees all citizens to “to profess, practice or propagate any religion,” according to Article 41.

However, the pressure of Islamic fundamentalists has caused the government to make certain restrictions applied to the Christian community. Even when proselyting is not restricted by the law, the social atmosphere allows only Hindus to evangelise openly. As a result, the Christian community is divided into two: visible ones, and invisible ones with converted Muslim members.

Jacobson, during his visit to Bangladesh reported about the cases of two women – Kumkum Roy and Shahanaz Alam, now in hiding, since they converted to Christianity. They cannot go back home, as they face threats from neighbours and pressure of forced marriage and conversion back to Islam.

The cases of these women are not the only ones and as reality has shown, converted Muslims face threats of violence and even death. Jacobson commented on the situation of one of the women: “Kumkum Roy’s situation is all too common in Bangladesh, where women who have converted to Christianity are abducted, beat, raped, and forced to marry and reconvert to Islam.”

The police fail when it comes to help people in this kind of situation. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) added Bangladesh to its Watch list this year as the Bangladeshi government has not taken any steps to change the situation. (Christian Today)